Plans for a new restaurant next to the Sea Harvest Fish Market and Restaurant in Moss Landing are in the works, but not without a potential legal battle.

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The lease agreement, provided by the Sea Harvest Fish Market and Restaurant's attorney Jeannette Witten, shows the 6,000-square foot plot of land as part of the agreement between the Harbor District and Sea Harvest.

Witten said they signed the agreement four years ago with the knowledge that the Harbor District would build a new restaurant that the Sea Harvest group would run.

"Our concern, obviously, is that we have made this commitment because it made sense for us to take a first crack with the Harbor District in its new venue because it's right next to the restaurant that we already have," Witten said.

But the Harbor District's attorney said that's not true and that the lease with Sea Harvest was terminated on Oct. 28.

So the district is planning to take bids from different companies wanting to manage the new multi-million dollar restaurant, hoping it will boost the local economy in Moss Landing.

"We have a duty to our constituency to generate revenue and this will be a prime location -- look at the traffic -- for a gateway to the Monterey Peninsula," harbor master Linda McIntyre said.

The $3 million project is set to be a 9,500-square foot, two-story building with views of the Moss Landing Harbor and the Monterey Bay.

"Bring visitors to use a myriad of attractions we have. I mean, we have Elkhorn Slough and kayaking and a number of whale watching vessels, so it's really an ideal location for promoting that visitor serving tourism," McIntyre said.

As far as the legal action being taken to counteract the districts plans, a judge has ordered both sides into mediation to try and resolve the issue.

In the meantime, the Harbor District board plans to move forward with the project by starting the bidding process. The board plans to approve the sketches for the new restaurant at a board meeting Wednesday night.